A soldier in a fictitious but realistic urban, desert environment, with superimposed numbers representing readings for anticipated sunlight (Image: EPSRC)

A soldier in a fictitious but realistic urban, desert environment, with superimposed numbers representing readings for anticipated sunlight (Image: EPSRC)

A soldier in a fictitious but realistic urban, desert environment, with superimposed numbers representing readings for anticipated sunlight (Image: EPSRC)

A soldier in a fictitious but realistic urban, desert environment, with superimposed numbers representing readings for anticipated sunlight (Image: EPSRC)

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Article Summary

If you’ve ever removed the battery from a laptop, then you will know that it constitutes quite a large percentage of the total weight of the computer. Well, if you think you’ve got it tough lugging that laptop battery around, consider the plight of infantry soldiers – they have to carry multiple batteries to power devices such as weapons, radios, and GPS equipment, and they have to do so for hours at a time, often under very harsh conditions. Attempts to lighten the 45 to 70 kg (99 to 154 lb) loads typically carried by soldiers currently include the use of fuel cells, li-ion batteries woven into their clothing, and autonomous pack horse-like vehicles. Now, UK researchers are adding their two pence-worth, by developing wearable solar and thermoelectric power systems.